Thanks to the Likas Lawn Bowling Complex in Sabah, Malaysia

To avoid the winter ice and snow of Canada, I spent January through March of 2013 in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.  This is in the tropics on the island of Borneo in what we westerners used to call the East Indies. Malaysia has a big program teaching lawn bowling to young people and I witnessed the skill of these students while playing at the Likas Lawn Bowling Complex in Kota Kinabalu. I was welcomed enthusiastically to play at this facility and for this I would like to particularly thank the President, Ladislaus Maluda, who answered my questions in advance by e-mail  and facilitated my introductions to players once there.

The Likas facility has two greens. They were both damaged by flooding. One green has been completely replaced and newly it reopened in February while I was there. To my surprise the surface is a sand-packed synthetic plastic material  exactly  like that at my Canadian home club,  James Gardens, in West Toronto.

 There are differences in the greens. At Likas, the center lines of  the rinks are permanently marked. This has the advantage that it speeds up the placement of the mat and the jack. The disadvantage is that as the rinks wear with heavy use some depressions may form along the center line where there will be more foot traffic. When the rinks are not marked, they can be moved from side-to-side by shifting the rink boundary markers to give more even wear.

A difference in the progress of play is that in all my time at Likas I never saw a rake. Players pick up their bowls or kick them back preparatory to playing the next end.

I also noticed a difference in the social aspect of the game. In friendly play, even when there are unused rinks available, it seems tobe standard for a singles game to morph into a pairs game and then to morph again into a triples contest as new players arrive at the club. This emphasizes the casual friendly nature of play and gives a new player a chance to meet everyone faster.
I
t seems that everywhere in the world, lawn bowlers are the most welcoming people around!